Q1) How many vehicles are there in the United Kingdom?
Q2) Which is the fastest growing category of vehicle?
Q3) How many licensed cars have a female registered keeper?
Q4) How often is a car in use or parked?
Q5) Where are household vehicles parked overnight in England?
Q6) Has the average size of a garage kept up with the current car size?
Q8) How can I identify how old a vehicle is?
Q9) How old is the average car?
Q10) What percentage of the car fleet is over 13 years old?
Q11) In the average car's lifetime, how many owners will it have?
Q12) What proportion do company cars comprise of the licensed car stock?
Q13) How many new cars were registered in the UK in 2024?
Q15) What were the most popular new cars registered in 2024?
Q16) What was the favourite new car colour in 2024?
Q17) How many used cars changed hands in 2024?
Q18) How many cars were manufactured in the UK in 2024?
Q19) How many driving licence holders are there?
Q20) What proportion of young adults (aged 17 - 20) in England hold a full driving licence?
Q21) What proportion of young people expect to be regular drivers?
Q22) What proportion of older people in England hold a full driving licence?
Q23) How many people aged 70 or over in Great Britain hold a full driving licence?
Q24) How many jobs require the applicant to be able to drive?
Q25) How many households in England have access to a car or van?
Q26) How many adults in England live in a household with access to a car or van?
Q28) Are the majority of SUVs registered to urban or rural households?
Q29) How important is the car as a mode of transport?
Q30) What proportion of people commute to work by car?
Q31) What is the average annual mileage per car in England?
Q33) How many miles per year does motor vehicle traffic travel on the roads of Great Britain?
Q34) What are the road traffic forecasts for future years?
Q35) How many miles of road are there in Great Britain?
Q36) What are the road lengths in England, Scotland and Wales?
Q37) How much of the British road network has no mobile phone coverage?
Q38) What type of roads does traffic travel on?
Q40) What are smart motorways?
Q41) Is the rollout of future smart motorways to be cancelled?
Q42) What type of vehicles use the roads in Great Britain?
Q43) How many tonnes of goods are carried by GB-registered HGVs in the UK?
Q44) What percentage of HGVs "drive around empty"?
Q45) How busy are the roads in Great Britain?
Q46) Which road has the highest average traffic flow?
Q47) What are average vehicle free flow speeds?
Q48) Which local authorities have the highest amount of vehicle miles driven on their roads?
Q49) Which of England's major A roads have the highest seasonal increase in traffic?
Q50) How many foreign registered vehicles use the roads in Great Britain?
Q54) How can I report a pothole to a local authority?
Q55) What percentage of local authority roads are considered to be in a poor state of repair?
Q56) How many bridges managed by local authorities in Great Britain are substandard?
Q58) What is the Blue Badge Scheme?
Q59) How many Blue Badges are on issue in England?
Q60) How many Blue Badges were lost or stolen in England in the year ending 31 March 2024?
Q1) How many vehicles are there in the United Kingdom?
A1) At the end of June 2024, there were 41.7 million licensed vehicles in the UK, an increase of 1.0 per cent compared to the end of June 2023.
Cars make up the majority of licensed vehicles. In the United Kingdom, there were 33.93 million cars (81.3 per cent), 4.8 million LGVs (11.5 per cent), 0.54 million HGVs (1.3 per cent), 1.47 million motorcycles (3.5 per cent), 0.14 million buses & coaches (0.3 per cent) and 0.87 million other vehicles (2.1 per cent) licensed at the end of June 2024.
The total number of licensed vehicles has increased in all but two years (1991 & 2020) since the end of the Second World War.
Source: Vehicle licensing statistics: April to June 2024
Historical details about the number of licensed vehicles can be viewed in Table VEH0101
Q2) Which is the fastest growing category of vehicle?
A2) Vans.
In the last 25 years, van traffic has seen the fastest growth (in percentage terms) of any motor vehicle, increasing 90 per cent to 57.5 billion vehicle miles in 2022. This rapid rise in van traffic now means that van traffic as a proportion of all motor vehicle miles has increased from 11 per cent to 18 per cent over the same period.
The number of vans in Great Britain has also increased substantially over the last 25 years, the numbers doubling from 2.3 million licensed vans in 1998 to 4.6 million licensed vans in 2023.
Source: Vehicle Licensing Statistics: 2023 and Table TRA0101
Q3) How many licensed cars have a female registered keeper?
A3) At the end of December 2023, about 35 per cent of registered private keepers of licensed cars in Great Britain were female.
Over the last 25 years, compared to the end of December 1998, the proportion of licensed cars registered to female private keepers has increased from 30 per cent to 35 per cent in Great Britain whilst over the same period, the proportion of licensed cars registered to male private keepers has decreased from 56 per cent to 50 per cent.
Source: Table VEH1102
Q4) How often is a car in use or parked?
A4) The average car or van in England is driven just 4 per cent of the time, a figure that has barely changed in quarter of a century.
For the rest of the time the car or van is either parked at home (73 per cent) or parked elsewhere (23 per cent), for example at work.
Source: RAC Foundation: Standing Still
Q5) Where are household vehicles parked overnight in England?
A5) In England in 2022, 10 per cent of household vehicles were parked in a garage overnight; 62 per cent were parked on private property (but not garaged); 25 per cent were parked on the street; and 3 per cent were parked in other places.
Since 2002, the proportion of respondents parking vehicles in garages has decreased from 22 per cent to 10 per cent and the proportion parking elsewhere on private property has increased by about the same amount (from 50 per cent to 62 per cent).
(Note: These statistics are the latest to be published by the Department for Transport.)
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2022 and Table NTS0908
Q6) Has the average size of a garage kept up with the current car size?
A6) No. The cars on Britain’s roads have, on average, got larger over time, both in width and in length. In 1965 the top five models sold in the UK had an average width of 1.5m and average length of 3.9m, compared to an average width of 1.8m and length of 4.3m for the top five sellers of 2020. Despite this, the typical garage door width for a domestic property is around 2.1m, leaving just 0.15m on either side of the average car in 2020.
While there is no extensive data on the changes in domestic garage dimensions over time, through evidence provided by various councils it can be seen that garage size poses a problem for anyone wanting to use their garage to park their car, and not merely in older residential developments. It comes as no surprise, then, that the ‘garage’ in many homes ends up being converted into a room, or simply serves as a storage shed. This view is borne out by an RAC study from 2014 which revealed that 62 per cent of households use their garage for purposes other than parking a car. Of the 38 per cent choosing to use their garage for its intended purpose, one in five had a hard time getting their car in, owing to limited dimensions.
Source: RAC Foundation: Standing Still
Q7) What proportion of Britain’s households have, or have the potential to have, enough off street parking to accommodate at least one car or van?
A7) 18 million (65 per cent) of Britain’s 27.6 million households have – or could have – enough off-street parking to accommodate at least one car or van?
Breaking the numbers down:
- Wales – 75 per cent of households have – or could have – off-street parking and electric vehicle charging
- England (excluding London) 68 per cent
- Scotland – 63 per cent
- London – 44 per cent
- Great Britain – 65 per cent
Details of the proportion of homes with – or with the potential to have – off-street parking by both local authority area and Westminster parliamentary constituency can be viewed in the report.
Source: RAC Foundation: Standing Still
Q8) How can I identify how old a vehicle is?
A8) In the United Kingdom you can identify the age of the vehicle by looking at the registration plate. This is because registration plates in the United Kingdom follow a specific format and set of rules.
Before 1983, letters were used as a suffix to the registration plate. This started in 1963 with the letter A and ended in 1983 with Y.
From 1983 until 2001, letters were used as prefixes before the rest of the letters and numbers to identify the age of the vehicle.
Since 2001, there are two numbers in the middle of the registration plate that represent the age of the vehicle. The first number indicates the year of registration and the second number indicates the specific six-month period within that year (March to August or September to February).
Full details, including a number plate registration years chart, can be viewed here.
Q9) How old is the average car?
A9) At the end of December 2023, the average age of a licensed car in the United Kingdom was 8.9 years old, an increase of about 16 per cent compared to the end of December 2018.
The average age varied between fuel types. Petrol cars were on average 9.1 years old and diesel cars 9.3 years old. However, battery electric cars were on average 1.5 years old and plug-in hybrid cars 2.4 years old.
Full details can be seen in the chart in our Green Fleet Index.
Q10) What percentage of the car fleet is over 13 years old?
A10) In 2023, 23.6 per cent of the car fleet was over 13 years old. This has risen from 22.5 per cent in 2022 and from 13.3 per cent in 2014.
Full details can be seen in the chart in our Green Fleet Index.
Q11) In the average car's lifetime, how many owners will it have?
A11) In the average car’s lifetime, it will have 4 owners.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – Motorparc Census
Q12) What proportion do company cars comprise of the licensed car stock?
A12) The commercial fleet and company car market is a primary driver of new registrations for cars. During 2023, about 57 per cent of cars registered for the first time had a company keeper. However, the proportion of all licensed cars at the end of December 2023 kept by companies was much lower at only 9.0 per cent. This is due to company-kept cars typically moving to become privately-kept after the car is around three years old.
The proportion of licensed cars with company keepers in Great Britain has remained within the range of 8 per cent to 11 per cent since 1994.
Source: Table VEH1102
Q13) How many new cars were registered in the UK in 2024?
A13) New car registrations reached 1,952,778 in 2024 – up 2.6 per cent over the 1,903,054 new cars that entered the UK market in 2023.
Over the full year, growth was delivered entirely by fleets, up 11.8 per cent to reach 1,163,855 units, accounting for a record six in 10 (59.6 per cent) new car registrations. Conversely, registrations by private buyers fell by 8.7 per cent to 746,276 units – less than in 2020 when social distancing restrictions during the pandemic shut down the market for three months. The far smaller business sector saw uptake fall by 3.1 per cent to 42,647 units.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – New Car Registrations
Q14) Of those new cars registered in 2024, how many were sold to businesses, fleets and private buyers?
A14) In 2024:-
- 42,647 cars were sold to businesses (companies that operate up to 24 vehicles) – a fall of 3.1 per cent from 44,031 in 2023;
- 1,163,855 cars were sold to fleets (companies that operate fleets of 25 or more vehicles) – an increase of 11.8 per cent from 1,041,350 in 2023; and
- 746,276 cars were sold to private buyers – a fall of 8.7 per cent from 817,673 in 2023.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – New Car Registrations
Q15) What were the most popular new cars registered in 2024?
A15) The UK’s top three most popular new cars of 2024 were:- 1) Ford Puma with 48,340 registrations 2) Kia Sportage (47,163 registrations) and 3) Nissan Qashqai (42,418 registrations).
The Tesla Model Y was the most popular electric car of 2024 and was the only electric car to make it into the top 10.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – New Car Registrations
Q16) What was the favourite new car colour in 2024?
A16) For the seventh year in a row, grey retained its position as the UK’s favourite new car colour in 2024. 543,464 grey cars were sold over the course of 2024, accounting for more than a quarter (27.8 per cent) of the market. Black ranked as the second shade of choice, while blue moved up to third place – the colour’s first appearance in the top three since 2010. This change marks the first variation to the top three and the first non-monochromatic colour to enter the podium in seven years. The top three represented 64.5 per cent of all new cars joining UK roads in 2024. White dropped to fourth, falling by 7.2 per cent, while red held firm in fifth place but recorded a 4.1 per cent drop, reaching its lowest market share since 2003.
Registrations of green cars were up more than a quarter (27.7 per cent) compared to 2023 and reached their highest volume since 2004 at 68,230 units, more than double the numbers registered in 2022 and the highest volume since 2004. Meanwhile, the nation’s least favourite car colour was pink, down on 2023 by 31.0 per cent, with just 145 registrations of the tint. Turquoise proved the most spurned colour, dropping from 3,627 registrations in 2023 to just 362 last year – marking the colour’s steepest recorded decline and its lowest performance since 2002.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
Q17) How many used cars changed hands in 2024?
A17) The UK’s used car market grew by 5.5 per cent in 2024 to 7,643,180 transactions, 400,488 more than in 2023 (7,242,692 transactions).
Across the year, sales of used battery electric cars rose by 57.4 per cent to a record 188,382 units and a 2.5 per cent share of the overall market, up from 1.6 per cent in 2023. Sales of hybrid electric (306,114) and plug-in hybrid cars (92,120) were also strong. However, diesel and petrol remained the most dominant fuel types, with a total of 7,041,734 units changing hands – 92.1 per cent of the overall market.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – Used Car Sales Data
Q18) How many cars were manufactured in the UK in 2024?
A18) 779,584 cars were manufactured in the UK in 2024, down 13.9 per cent compared to the 905,117 cars manufactured in 2023. Multiple factors impacted car volumes, with the end of production for some long running models as factories retooled for electric vehicles, weakness in key global markets and a slowdown in the transition to electrification amid tough economic conditions.
While 176,019 cars were built for domestic buyers, nearly eight in ten cars produced (603,565 units) were destined for export last year. 77.5 per cent (467,937 units) were shipped to the top three markets:- the EU (54.0 per cent), US (16.9 per cent) and China (6.6 per cent). Exports to the EU and China were down 24.3 per cent and 21.8 per cent respectively, but those to the US rose 38.5 per cent. Turkey and Japan rounded off the UK’s top five global export markets, followed by Australia, Canada, South Korea, UAE and Israel.
Source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – UK Automotive Manufacturing
Q19) How many driving licence holders are there?
A19) In February 2025, the total number of driving licences registered with DVLA was 52,799,687. Of these, 42,537,111 were full driving entitlement licences and 10,262,576 were provisional entitlement licences. These figures are for the whole of Great Britain.
It should be stressed that neither DVLA or DfT would recommend that users rely on this data being a true reflection of the number of active driving licence holders in Great Britain as the DVLA data includes details of people who have died, emigrated etc and who have not been removed from the DVLA database.
Source: Driving Licence Data
More robust estimates of active driving licence holders are available from the National Travel Survey. Latest estimates show that in 2023, 34.52 million of English residents aged 17 and over held a full driving licence. This equates to about 74 per cent of English residents aged 17 and over. In 1992, the proportion of adults with a licence in England was estimated at 67 per cent (an estimated 25.4 million people).
Around 80 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women of English residents aged 17 and over hold a full driving licence. Whilst, over the long term, licence holding among both men and women has increased, the rate of increase has been much greater for women. For men, the percentage has stayed the same since 2002, but for women, driving licence holding has increased by 9 percentage points over the same period.
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2023 and Table NTS0201
Q20) What proportion of young adults (aged 17 - 20) in England hold a full driving licence?
A20) In 2023, 29 per cent of men and women aged 17 – 20 held a full licence.
The percentage of young men and young women holding a full driving licence was very similar – 29 per cent for young men and 28 per cent for young women.
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2023 and Table NTS0201
Q21) What proportion of young people expect to be regular drivers?
A21) Aside from those unable to drive because of a disability of health condition, more than 8 out of 10 (85 per cent) of young people aged 17 to 24 think it is certain or likely they will be driving a car or van at least once a week by 2035, even though only little over half (56 per cent) currently do so now.
The most common reasons given by those questioned for believing they will start driving include an expectation their lifestyles will require it and a belief that driving will be more convenient for them than either public transport or active travel (such as walking and cycling). However, young people also recognise that driving is set to change in the coming years and there is a broad recognition of the need to reduce the environmental impact of driving.
The numbers are revealed in a survey by Ipsos for the RAC Foundation.
Source: RAC Foundation
Q22) What proportion of older people in England hold a full driving licence?
A22) There has been a large increase in the number of older people in England holding a full driving licence. Between 1995/1997 and 2023 the proportion of people aged 70+ holding a licence increased from 39 per cent to 73 per cent. This is due to aging of existing licence holders rather than large numbers of newly qualified drivers in older age groups.
The increase among older women is particularly notable: 76 per cent of women aged 60-69 and 63 per cent aged 70+ held a full driving licence in 2023 compared with 46 per cent and 22 per cent in 1995/97 respectively.
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2023 and Table NTS0201
Q23) How many people aged 70 or over in Great Britain hold a full driving licence?
A23) According to DVLA data there are now 5.97 million people aged 70 or more in Great Britain who hold a full licence.
1.65 million holders of full driving licences in Great Britain are aged 80 or over, including 510 aged 100 or over. The oldest holder of a full licence is 108.
While not all of these licence holders will be active drivers, the statistics illustrate the growing number of older people who still use a car.
Drivers do not have to have mandatory tests or health checks after obtaining their licence no matter how old they become, although they are required to inform the DVLA if they are no longer fit to drive.
However, at age 70 all drivers must self-certify their fitness to drive, something they need to do every three years thereafter.
Source: RAC Foundation
Q24) How many jobs require the applicant to be able to drive?
A24) More than one in six jobs being advertised in the UK requires applicants to be able to drive.
Research by the RAC Foundation shows that in the first week of October 2023 a total of 1,092,172 recruitment advertisements were posted on the job vacancy aggregator site Adzuna.
Of the 1,092,172 advertisements, 189,608 (17.4 per cent) explicitly or implicitly required those applying to have at least a standard driving licence because the job was either:-
- specifically for a driver
- or required driving during the course of work
- or a car was needed to reach work (due to reduced accessibility by public transport)
Using specific occupation categories as defined by the Office for National Statistics, the data revealed that the need to drive was, to a greater or lesser degree, a requirement in a wide variety of roles, for example:-
- 100 per cent of driving instructors
- 67 per cent of plumbers
- 59 per cent of estate agents and auctioneers
- 34 per cent of care workers and home carers
The sectors least likely to require job applicants to have the ability to drive were teaching and education; culture, media and sport; and secretarial and administrative.
Further details of the top 30 occupations with driving as an explicit or implicit requirement in job advertisements and an analysis of the data for the same week in October in the eight years from 2016 to 2023 can be viewed here.
Q25) How many households in England have access to a car or van?
A25) About 78 per cent.
There have been significant long-term increases in the proportion of households with access to a car or van. The proportion of households without a car has fallen from 48 per cent in 1971 (based on the Census) to 22 per cent in 2023, while the proportion of households with access to two or more cars or vans increased over this period from 8 per cent to 34 per cent.
Since 2000, there have been more households with two or more cars or vans than households with no car or van.
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2023 and Table NTS0205
Q26) How many adults in England live in a household with access to a car or van?
A26) In 2023, 82 per cent of adults in England lived in a household with a car or van. This differed very slightly between men and women (84 per cent and 80 per cent respectively).
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2023 and Table NTS0206
Q27) Which local authorities in England and Wales have the highest and lowest number of cars and vans per head of population?
A27) Research carried out by the RAC Foundation (based on 2011 Census data) shows that of the 348 English and Welsh local authorities, the East Dorset District Council area has the highest number of cars and vans per head of population.
For every thousand people – men, women and children – living in East Dorset, there are 694 cars. This compares with an average of 487 cars and vans per thousand people as a whole. By contrast, Hackney has the fewest at 170 cars and vans per thousand people.
Q28) Are the majority of SUVs registered to urban or rural households?
A28) Urban households.
Three quarters of SUVs sold in the UK are registered to urban households according to analysis of data from 2019 and 2020 by the think tank New Weather Institute and climate charity Possible.
According to the report, “rather than large SUVs being most popular in remote farming regions, six of the top ten areas for new sales are urban or suburban districts. Although these vehicles have 4-wheel-drive and off-road capability, the top three districts for large SUVs are inner London boroughs. These include Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Westminster. On average, the report found that one in three new private cars bought in these areas is a large SUV.
Q29) How important is the car as a mode of transport?
A29) The RAC Foundation’s report entitled “The Car in British Society” showed that the dominance of the car as a mode of transport in the early years of the 21st Century is absolute and that policy makers must recognise this fact as they introduce measures to cut traffic and hence ease congestion and fight climate change.
The car continues to dominate most people’s daily travel. In 2023, 60 per cent of trips (a decrease of 1 percentage point from 2019), were made by car, either as a driver or passenger. The car is also the most common mode for distance travelled, accounting for 78 per cent of all miles travelled in 2023 (an increase of 1 percentage point from 2019).
Walking was the most frequent mode used for short trips – 81 per cent of trips under one mile were walks in 2023. However, for all other distance bands, the car was the most frequent mode of travel.
Source : National Travel Survey: England 2023
Car use (both as driver and passenger) accounts for only 8 per cent of the trips under half a mile in length but rises to 76 per cent of all trips in the 2 – 3 mile band and 80 per cent of trips longer than five miles in length; above one mile, more than half of all trips are by car.
Source: The Car in British Society
The Commission for Integrated Transport noted in its “Medium-length Trip Patterns” report that 42 per cent of car mileage was driven on medium-length car trips (defined as 5 – 25 miles).
Q30) What proportion of people commute to work by car?
A30) Across Great Britain, 66 per cent of commuters used a car to get to work in 2023. This was similar to previous years. Wales (81 per cent) and Scotland (69 per cent) have higher rates of commuting by car than England (65 per cent).
At least 70 per cent of people travelled to work by car in most regions. London, however, has much lower rates of commuting by car than other regions (26 per cent) and is the only region where a majority commute using public transport.
The percentage of workers usually travelling to work by car by region of workplace in 2023 can be seen below:-
| GB Country | English Region | Proportion |
| England | 65% | |
| North East | 73% | |
| North West | 73% | |
| Yorkshire & Humber | 75% | |
| East Midlands | 79% | |
| West Midlands | 77% | |
| East of England | 67% | |
| London | 26% | |
| South East | 70% | |
| South West | 76% | |
| Scotland | 69% | |
| Wales | 81% |
Source: Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2023 Domestic Travel and DfT Table TSGB0108
The issue was also considered in a RAC Foundation report The Car and the Commute.
Q31) What is the average annual mileage per car in England?
A31) The estimated average annual mileage per car in England has decreased as the number of cars per household has risen, falling from around 9,200 miles in 2002 to 7,000 miles in 2023.
The estimated average annual mileage was higher for diesel and hybrid cars than petrol cars in 2023, at 8,300 miles for both diesel and hybrid cars and 6,100 miles for petrol cars.
Source: National Travel Survey: England 2023 and Table NTS0901
Q32) What is the average annual mileage of new cars in each of the first 3 years after they are registered?
A32) An analysis carried out by the RAC Foundation shows that the newest cars in Great Britain do an average of 10,377 miles in each of the first three years after they are registered. This is the equivalent of 28 miles per day. (Private cars are required to start having annual MOTs once they are three years old. At that point the mileage is recorded by the test venue and it is this information that has been used in the research).
However, there are big differences between cars of varying make, model and fuel type. The results show that new diesel cars cover an average of 12,496 miles in each of their first three years. This is 67% more than new petrol cars which only do an average of 7,490 miles per year. Pure battery electric cars are driven an average of 9,435 miles per year.
Full details of the average annual mileage of new cars in each of their first 3 years by make, model and fuel type can be viewed here.
Source: RAC Foundation
Q33) How many miles per year does motor vehicle traffic travel on the roads of Great Britain?
A33) 330.8 billion vehicle miles were driven on Great Britain’s roads in 2023, an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to 2022. However, traffic in 2023 was 2.3 per cent lower when compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
Car traffic increased by 3.0 per cent from 2022 levels to 251.3 billion vehicle miles but 2023 car traffic estimates are lower than those for before the pandemic (-4.4 per cent when compared to 2019); van traffic showed little change from 2022 at 57.8 billion vehicle miles but 2023 van traffic estimates are higher than levels before the pandemic (+8.1 per cent when compared to 2019); and lorry traffic decreased by 2.5 per cent from 2022 to 16.9 billion vehicle miles but 2023 lorry traffic estimates are lower than levels before the pandemic (-1.6 per cent when compared to 2019).
Motorway traffic increased by 2.4 per cent compared to 2022, carrying 69.9 billion vehicle miles but motorway traffic estimates for 2023 are lower than those for before the pandemic (-0.9 per cent when compared to 2019); ‘A’ road traffic saw an increase of 2.5 per cent from 2022, to 145.6 billion vehicle miles but ‘A’ roads traffic estimates for 2023 are lower than those for before the pandemic (-3.1 per cent when compared to 2019); and minor road traffic increased by 1.7 per cent since 2022, carrying 115.4 billion vehicle miles but 2023 minor road traffic estimates are lower when compared to those before the pandemic (-2.2 per cent when compared to 2019).
Source: Road traffic estimates in Great Britain, 2023: Headline Figures
Latest figures show that 333.7 billion vehicle miles were driven on Great Britain’s roads in the 12 month period ending September 2024. This was up 1.4 per cent compared to the year ending September 2023. Motor vehicle traffic levels fell during the pandemic but have since increased. Traffic levels for the year ending September 2024 were 1.5 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
Cars and taxis travelled 252.9 billion vehicle miles in the 12 months ending September 2024. Car and taxi traffic rose 1.3 per cent from the year ending September 2023. Car and taxi miles for the year ending September 2024 were down by 3.8 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
59.0 billion vehicle miles were driven by vans on Great Britain’s roads in the 12 month period ending September 2024. This was a rise of 2.3 per cent compared to the year ending September 2023. Van distance travelled for the year ending September 2024 was 10.4 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
17.0 billion vehicle miles were driven by lorries on Great Britain’s roads in the 12 month period ending September 2024. Lorry traffic was similar to the year ending September 2023. Distance covered by lorries for the year ending September 2024 was 1.3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
In the year ending September 2024, 21 per cent of motor vehicle miles travelled were on motorways, 44 per cent on ‘A’ roads, and 35 per cent on minor roads. 65 per cent of motor vehicle miles travelled were on major roads (motorways and ‘A’ roads) despite comprising only 13 per cent of the road network by length.
69.7 billion vehicle miles were driven on motorways in Great Britain in the 12 month period ending September 2024. This was similar to the year ending September 2023. Motorway traffic for the year ending September 2024 was 1.1 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
147.3 billion vehicle miles were driven on ‘A’ roads in Great Britain in the 12 month period ending September 2024. This represents a 1.8 per cent rise from the year ending September 2023. Traffic on ‘A’ roads for the year ending September 2024 was 2.0 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels.
116.7 billion vehicle miles were driven on minor roads in Great Britain in the 12 month period ending September 2024. This represents a 1.6 per cent increase from the year ending September 2023. Distance travelled on minor roads for the year ending September 2024 was 1.0 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
Source: Provisional road traffic estimates, Great Britain: October 2023 to September 2024
Q34) What are the road traffic forecasts for future years?
A34) The National Road Traffic Projections 2022 study presents the Department for Transport’s latest projections of road traffic, congestion and emissions in England and Wales up to the year 2060, using the DfT’s National Transport Model (NTM). Within these forecasts, seven different plausible scenarios have been constructed that reflect the uncertainty in the key drivers of road traffic demand.
The factors with the biggest influence on future traffic volume are:-
- population
- economic growth
- employment levels
- number and type of households
- fuel prices
- fuel efficiency.
Traffic levels in England and Wales are projected to grow in all the scenarios, but with large variation around the size and trend of that growth. From 2025, traffic is projected to grow between 8 per cent and 54 per cent by 2060. Consequently, delay is projected to increase by between 6 per cent and 85 per cent from 2025 to 2060. (This is measured as average delay per vehicle per mile in seconds).
The lowest levels of traffic are seen in the Behavioural Change Scenario which assumes increased flexible working, online shopping and reduced rates of driving licence holding among younger cohorts. In this scenario, traffic is projected to grow by 8 per cent between 2025 and 2060. The highest growth is seen in the Technology Scenario which assumes high and fast uptake of connected and autonomous vehicles (AVs) and high and fast uptake of electric vehicles which are assumed to maintain their current cost advantage over petrol and diesel vehicles. This is just one potential future with AVs which assumes increased trip making for the elderly and increased driving licence holding for all. In this scenario, traffic is projected to grow by 54 per cent between 2025 and 2060.
Source: National Road Traffic Projections 2022
Q35) How many miles of road are there in Great Britain?
A35) In 2024, there were 246,500 miles of road in Great Britain. This was 800 more miles than in 2023.
There were 31,900 miles of major road in Great Britain in 2024, consisting of 2,300 miles of motorway and 29,600 miles of ‘A’ road. These major roads make up about 13 per cent of the total road length.
The majority of road lengths in Great Britain is made up of minor roads, with these roads accounting for 214,600 miles in 2024. The minor roads consist of 18,900 miles of ‘B’ road and 195,700 miles of ‘C’ and ‘U’ road.
Most of the 5,600-mile increase seen over the last 20 years is due to the changes in minor road lengths. There were 4,900 more miles of minor road in Great Britain in 2024 than in 2004 (a 2.3 per cent increase) almost entirely driven by an increase in ‘C’ and ‘U’ roads.
Source: Road Lengths in Great Britain: 2024
Q36) What are the road lengths in England, Scotland and Wales?
A36) Of the 246,500 miles of road in Great Britain in 2024, 188,300 miles (76.4 per cent) of road were in England, 37,100 miles (15.0 per cent) were in Scotland and 21,100 miles (8.6 per cent) were in Wales.
The road networks for Scotland and Wales account for a higher proportion of all road length in Great Britain compared to the population of these countries, which are more sparsely populated.
Within England, the regions with the largest amount of road length were the South West, which had 31,106 miles, and the South East, with 30,176 miles.
Source: Road Lengths in Great Britain: 2024 and Table RDL0101
Q37) How much of the British road network has no mobile phone coverage?
A37) There are still more than five and a half thousand miles of road in Britain where drivers would find it impossible to call for help in case of a crash or breakdown because there is no mobile phone voice coverage from any network provider.
The stretches of road – measuring 5,540 in total – represent 2 per cent of the length of Britain’s overall road network – which is 245,705 miles long.
According to the RAC Foundation analysis, a further 44,368 miles of road (18 per cent) have only partial voice coverage meaning there are many areas where some but not all phones will receive a signal depending on the service provider they rely on.
Source: Mobile phone coverage across the GB road network
Q38) What type of roads does traffic travel on?
A38) In 2023, 69.9 billion vehicle miles (bvm) were carried on motorways; 98.5 bvm on rural ‘A’ roads; 47.1 bvm on urban ‘A’ roads; 48.9 bvm on rural minor roads; and 66.4 bvm on urban minor roads.
Motorway traffic increased by 2.4 per cent between 2022 and 2023. 21 per cent of all vehicle miles were driven on motorways in 2023.
Traffic volumes are not proportionate to road lengths. In 2023, 65 per cent of the motor vehicle miles travelled were on motorways and ‘A’ roads, despite comprising only 13 per cent of the road network by length. On an average day in 2023, 56 times more vehicles travelled along a typical stretch of motorway than a typical stretch of a minor road (‘B’ roads, ‘C’ roads, and unclassified roads).
Source: Road traffic estimates in Great Britain, 2023: Traffic in Great Britain by road type and TRA0102
A39) A journey analysis undertaken in November 2019 showed that only a small proportion (14 per cent) of car and taxi trips on the M25 – one of the longest and busiest ring roads in the world – bypass London completely and are made by people travelling from one part of the country to another.
The vast majority (74 per cent) of car and taxi trips that include the M25 actually start or end in London.
The remaining proportion (12 per cent) of car and van trips are so-called intra-London movements, meaning the journeys both start and end in the capital but use the 117-mile-long orbital motorway as part of the route.
The analysis also revealed that of the strategic routes “feeding” the M25, the M1 was the most significant, followed by the M4, M3, M40 and A2.
Full details can be viewed here.
Q40) What are smart motorways?
A40) A smart motorway is a section of a motorway that uses technology to monitor and manage the flow of traffic permanently or at particularly busy times of the day. The technology is controlled from the National Highway’s regional control centres which can activate and change signs and variable speed limits. A map showing where smart motorways are operating can be viewed here.
There are currently three different types of smart motorway:- controlled motorways; dynamic hard shoulder running schemes and all lane running schemes.
Controlled motorways have three or more lanes with variable speed limits but retain a hard shoulder. Variable speed limits are displayed on overhead gantry signs – if no speed limit is displayed the national speed limit is in place. Speed cameras are used to enforce these limits.
Dynamic hard shoulder running involves opening the hard shoulder as a running lane to traffic at busy periods to ease congestion. Overhead signs on gantries indicate whether or not the hard shoulder is open to traffic. The hard shoulder must not be used if the signs over it are blank or display a red X, except in the case of an emergency.
All lane running schemes permanently remove the hard shoulder and convert it into a running lane. These motorways also have overhead gantry signs that display the mandatory speed limit which varies depending on the traffic conditions – if no speed limit is displayed the national speed limit is in place. Speed cameras are used to enforce these limits. Should drivers break down or be involved in an accident there are emergency refuge areas at the side of the carriageway for them to use.
The RAC’s advice on smart motorways, and how to use them, can be viewed here.
Q41) Is the rollout of future smart motorways to be cancelled?
A41) Yes. The former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP announced in April 2023 that there will be no more smart motorways built in England given financial pressures and in recognition of the current lack of public confidence felt by drivers.
A total of fourteen schemes in the pipeline will now be abandoned; eleven that were already paused from the current Road Investment Strategy (RIS) 2 and three scheduled to get underway in RIS3. The move will save about £1 billion.
However, while no new stretches of road will be converted into smart motorways, the M56 J6-8 and M6 J21a-26 will be completed given they are already over three quarters constructed.
The £900 million investment being made to improve safety on existing smart motorways will continue. This includes the installation of 150 extra emergency areas in line with the government commitments made to the Transport Select Committee.
Improvements will also be made to stopped vehicle detection technology which will cover every all lane running smart motorway.
Further details can be viewed here.
Q42) What type of vehicles use the roads in Great Britain?
A42) Car and taxi traffic accounted for 76 per cent of all motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain in 2023, with light van and Heavy Goods Vehicle traffic accounting for 17 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. Motorcycles/scooters and buses/coaches both accounted for 1 per cent.
Source: Road Traffic Estimates in Great Britain, 2023: Traffic in Great Britain by Vehicle Type and TRA0101
Q43) How many tonnes of goods are carried by GB-registered HGVs in the UK?
A43) In 2023, 1.55 billion tonnes of goods were carried by GB-registered HGVs in the UK. This was 5 per cent lower than in 2022 when 1.64 billion tonnes of goods were carried by GB-registered HGVs in the UK.
Source: Domestic road freight statistics, UK: 2023
Q44) What percentage of HGVs "drive around empty"?
A44) In 2023, GB-registered HGVs travelled 5,776 million kilometres whilst empty. This is 30 per cent of total (loaded and empty) vehicle kilometres travelled during the same period (18,987 million kilometres).
This is similar to 2022, where GB-registered HGVs also travelled empty for 30 per cent of total vehicle kilometres travelled (5,846 out of 19,533 million kilometres).
Source: Domestic road freight statistics, UK: 2023
Q45) How busy are the roads in Great Britain?
A45) Motor vehicle flow statistics give an indication of how busy roads in Great Britain are rather than volume of miles travelled on the road network. They are presented as the average number of vehicles passing per day on a typical stretch of road.
Motorways continued to have the highest average traffic flow in 2023 with 82.2 thousand vehicles passing on a typical stretch of motorway. The average traffic flow on urban “A” roads was 17.7 thousand vehicles and traffic flows on rural “A” roads were 12.1 thousand vehicles.
The average traffic flow on urban minor roads was 2.1 thousand vehicles and traffic flows on rural minor roads were 1.1 thousand vehicles.
Source: Road traffic estimates in Great Britain, 2023: Traffic in Great Britain by road type and TRA0301
Q46) Which road has the highest average traffic flow?
A46) The road link with the highest average daily traffic flow in 2023 was the section of the M25 between junctions 14 and 15 with 209,000 vehicles per day passing along it.
This was followed by 2 other sections of the M25 motorway between junctions 16 to 15 (206,000 vehicles per day) and junctions 13 to 14 (205,000 vehicles per day).
Source: Road traffic estimates in Great Britain, 2023: Traffic in Great Britain by road type
Q47) What are average vehicle free flow speeds?
A47) For 30 mph roads, the average free flow speed for cars was 30 mph. The average free flow speed for all vehicle types ranged from 27 mph to 31 mph.
For national speed limit single carriageways, the average free flow speed for cars was 51 mph, and the average free flow speeds were at or below the relevant speed limits for all vehicle types.
For motorways, the average free flow speed for cars was 69 mph. The average free flow speed was at or below the designated speed limit for each vehicle type, with the exception of motorcycles where the average free flow speed was 71 mph.
For 20 mph sites (which are not thought to be representative of all 20 mph roads), the average speed for cars was 25 mph and the average speeds for all vehicle types ranged from 22 mph to 29 mph.
Source: Vehicle speed compliance statistics for Great Britain: 2023
Q48) Which local authorities have the highest amount of vehicle miles driven on their roads?
A48) The local authority with the highest amount of miles driven on their roads in 2023 is Essex with 9.686 billion vehicle miles. Essex is followed by Hampshire (9.472 billion vehicle miles) and Kent (9.383 billion vehicle miles).
Of the five local authorities with the highest levels of traffic, three are in the South East region (Hampshire, Kent, Surrey) and two are in the East of England region (Essex, Hertfordshire). These are all authorities with relatively large road networks, and they all contain some of the major motorways of Great Britain.
Source: Road traffic estimates in Great Britain, 2023: Headline Figures and TRA8901
Q49) Which of England's major A roads have the highest seasonal increase in traffic?
A49) The A458 heading towards Snowdonia sees the biggest seasonal increase in traffic on England’s major A roads. During the summer it carries almost a quarter (23.1 per cent) more vehicles than during the rest of the year.
After the A458, comes the A30 in the West Country (19.2 per cent increase) and the A2070 in Kent heading towards the coast and Camber Sands (16.1 per cent). The road with the fourth biggest increase is the A494 just north of Chester which runs into North Wales (15 per cent) and fifth is the A31 through the New Forest (13.1 per cent).
Full details can be viewed here.
Q50) How many foreign registered vehicles use the roads in Great Britain?
A50) In 2019, 0.3 per cent of all traffic on British roads was estimated to be accounted for by foreign registered vehicles. By vehicle type, lorry traffic had the highest proportion of foreign registered vehicles at 3.9 per cent, this was a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to 2017. Foreign registered lorries cabotage accounted for just over 1 per cent of road freight activity within the UK.
The South East region had the highest proportion of foreign registered vehicles of any region within Great Britain in 2019. This likely reflects that the South East is the region of arrival and departure for many motor vehicles coming from Europe through ports and the channel tunnel.
(NB These statistics are the latest to be published by the Department for Transport.)
Source: Road Traffic Estimates: Great Britain 2019
A51) National Highways is the government company which plans, designs, builds, operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A roads, known as the strategic road network.
A map of the National Highways network can be found here.
In Scotland a similar responsibility falls on Transport Scotland, and in Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government.
Other roads are managed by local authorities.
Q52) How many claims on average were received by local authorities for damage to persons or vehicles as a result of poor road conditions and what is the total amount of compensation paid?
A52) In 2024/25, the average number of claims received by local authorities in England and Wales decreased by 2.6 per cent to 410 per authority (2023/24: 421 per authority) with 92 per cent of the claims reportedly relating specifically to potholes.
The total amount paid out in compensation by local authorities in England (including London) and Wales in 2024/25 for damage to persons or vehicles as a result of poor road condition was £19.7 million. The associated staff costs spent processing these claims totalled £17.6 million.
The overall total cost for addressing these compensation claims was therefore £37.3 million – an increase of about 32 per cent over the £28.2 million reported in the previous year. The total cost of compensation claims in 2024/25 is the equivalent of £183.04 paid out per mile of road.
Source: The Asphalt Industry Alliance ALARM Survey Report 2025
Q53) How many potholes were filled in over the last year and what was the cost of filling these potholes in?
A53) In 2024/25, the total number of potholes filled in in England (including London) and Wales was 1.9 million – down by 87,000 on the number stated last year but still higher than any other year since ALARM 2016. This is the equivalent of one pothole being addressed every 17 seconds in England and Wales.
The total cost of filling in these potholes was estimated at £137.4 million, down 4 per cent from the £143.5 million reported in the previous year.
Source: The Asphalt Industry Alliance ALARM Survey Report 2025
Q54) How can I report a pothole to a local authority?
A54) If you want to report a pothole you can go straight to the authority responsible for the road (most now have an electronic or web-based system available to the public to report potholes and highway faults).
Alternatively, you can report potholes through the following sites:- www.fillthathole.org.uk or www.fixmystreet.com
Q55) What percentage of local authority roads are considered to be in a poor state of repair?
A55) 12 per cent of roads in England (excluding London), 19 per cent of roads in London and 8 per cent of roads in Wales are reported as being in a poor state of repair and likely to require maintenance in the next 12 months.
Local authorities’ estimate the one-time “catch-up” cost – over and above what local authorities indicate they already receive – to bring their road networks up to scratch has increased by 3.1 per cent in 2024/25 to £16.8 billion from the £16.3 billion reported in the previous year. The one-time catch-up cost is an average of £129.2 million per authority in England (excluding London); £31.3 million in London and £43.4 million in Wales.
Even if adequate funding and resources were in place to get roads back into a reasonable condition, it is estimated that to clear the carriageway maintenance backlog will take 12 years in England (excluding London), 10 years in London and 13 years in Wales.
Source: The Asphalt Industry Alliance ALARM Survey Report 2025
Q56) How many bridges managed by local authorities in Great Britain are substandard?
A56) One in every twenty-five council-maintained road bridges in Great Britain is officially deemed as substandard, according to research by the RAC Foundation.
Analysis of the data collected from 201 of the 208 local highway authorities in England, Scotland and Wales who responded to FOI requests from the RAC Foundation about the condition of the bridges they managed has identified 2,928 bridges – defined as structures over 1.5 m in span – as being substandard at the end of 2023. (Substandard means unable to carry the heaviest vehicles now seen on our roads, including lorries of up to 44 tonnes). These bridges make up 4.0 per cent of the total of 73,208 bridges the 201 councils manage between them.
This compares with the previous year’s figures provided by 200 councils which showed that of the 72,540 bridges they reported as managing, 3,174 (4.4 per cent) were substandard.
Some of the bridges were built decades, if not centuries, ago and will be substandard because they were built to earlier design standards as their designers could not have envisaged the type, size and volume of traffic seen today, whilst others will have deteriorated through age and use. Many of these bridges have weight restrictions. Others will be under programmes of increased monitoring or even managed decline.
Between them, councils say they would ideally want to bring 1,955 (66.8 per cent) of the 2,928 substandard bridges back up to full carrying capacity. However, budget limitations mean they anticipate that only 292 of these will have the necessary work carried out on them within the next five years.
Based on responses from 122 councils (61 per cent of the 201 total), it would cost £4.1 billion to clear the total backlog of maintenance work on the 45,796 bridges (63 per cent of the 73,208 total) they manage between them. Extrapolating from this figure, it can be estimated that the total outstanding value of the bridge maintenance workbank for highways authorities in Great Britain is around £6.8 billion.
Councils were also asked what specific issues concerned them most when it came to managing their bridge stocks. The responses could be broadly categorised as follows:-
- Weather and climate change impacts
- Budgetary pressures
- Inflationary effects
- Staffing, including lack of trained personnel, recruitment and retention
- Skills outside of councils particularly among contractors and consultants
- Ageing infrastructure
- Specific issues relating to bridges under/over railways, or liaison with Network Rail
Increased concern about weather and climate impacts was particularly notable this year. These worries included not just the impacts of heavier rainfall leading to things like flooding, washout and the increased scouring of submerged parts of a structure, but also ground shrinkage caused by hotter, drier weather.
Further details can be viewed here.
Q57) How often are railway bridges struck by traffic and which are the most struck railway bridges in Britain?
A57) From 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 there were 1,532 reported bridge strikes by motor vehicles – one every six hours. These strikes cost Britain’s rail industry around £20m in delays, cancellations and repairs and caused over 100 days (150,000 minutes) of delays for rail passengers.
Stuntney Road, Ely was the most bashed bridge with 18 recorded incidents over the past year. Next up is Stonea Road, Stonea and Lower Downs Road, Wimbledon with 17 incidents apiece.
Bridge strikes reported across the railway network in the last five financial years are as follows:-
Year 2019/20 – 1,825 strikes
Year 2020/21 – 1,650 strikes
Year 2021/22 – 1,864 strikes
Year 2022/23 – 1,588 strikes
Year 2023/24 – 1,532 strikes
Source: Network Rail
Q58) What is the Blue Badge Scheme?
A58) The Blue Badge scheme is designed to help people with disabilities or health conditions park closer to their destination. The eligibility criteria and the information that you need to apply for a Blue Badge can be viewed here.
Eligibilty for a badge was extended to people who cannot walk as part of a journey without considerable psychological distress or the risk of serious harm in August 2019.
The way in which a Blue Badge can be used differs in England, Scotland and Wales. Full details can be viewed here.
You can apply for, or re-new, a Blue Badge here.
Q59) How many Blue Badges are on issue in England?
A59) There were 2.84 million valid Blue Badges held as at 31 March 2024, an increase of 10 per cent (263,000 badges) when compared with the previous year. Of the badges held, 4.0 per cent of all badges (115,000) were held by people with non-visible disabilities. This was an increase from 3.3 per cent (86,000) in the year ending 31 March 2023.
On 31 March 2024, 4.9 per cent of the population in England held a valid Blue Badge, up from 4.6 per cent the previous year. The region with the most Blue Badge holders as a proportion of their population was the North East (5.8 per cent). The region with the lowest proportion was London (3.3 per cent), which also had the lowest regional proportion of retired people. Similarly, metropolitan areas such as Birmingham (4.1 per cent) and Manchester (3.4 per cent) also had comparatively low proportions of Blue Badge holders.
As at 31 March 2024, 2.93 million people (5.1 per cent of the population in England) were entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment (previously known as automatically entitled). The number and proportion of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment has been rising since 2015. However, the percentage of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment who hold one has been decreasing since 2020. On 31 March 2024, 38 per cent of people entitled to a Blue Badge without further assessment held one. The equivalent figure was 46 per cent in 2020.
Source: Disability, accessibility and blue badge statistics, England: 2023 to 2024
Q60) How many Blue Badges were lost or stolen in England in the year ending 31 March 2024?
A60) In England, 6,400 badges in the year ending 31 March 2024 were reported to be lost or stolen. Of these, 75 per cent (4,800) were reported to be lost and 25 per cent (1,600) were stolen. The figures reflect cases that have been recorded in the Blue Badge Digital Service database. It is possible that not all instances of loss or theft will be reported and recorded, and therefore will not be included in these figures.
Source: Disability, accessibility and blue badge statistics, England: 2023 to 2024